All bad things must come to an end. So read the slogan on the merchandise surrounding Motley Crue the Final Tour when it pulled into Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix on Saturday, July 19.

And they may not have gone out on top after 33 years, but they went out in style. Or style as it applies to Motley Crue, which is exactly what the situation called for -- pyro, dancing girls and Frank Sinatra.

Having set the tone with a recording of "So Long, Farewell," originally featured in "The Sound of Music," the Crue took the stage to 2008's "Saints of Los Angeles," the title track to what appears to be their final album. Vince Neil worked the stage in a floor-length vest and Mick Mars shredded on guitar -- as is his custom -- while fans got their first taste of the pyro that would make the use of pyro at the Kiss show the previous week seem almost subtle in comparison. The go-go dancers made their first appearance on the next song, "Wild Side," which rocked with authority. And giant bursts of flame were shooting from the floor by song three, "Primal Scream," which emerged as a spirited audience shoutalong with Tommy Lee banging a cowbell and Mars contributing another squealing show of force on lead guitar.

Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:

Neil, whose sense of showmanship tends to revolve around playfully tossing variations on the f-word at his fans as a term of endearment, turned surprisingly heartfelt to talk about the early days of Motley Crue, hanging out on the Strip so much, "We figured we might as well be in a band," and what makes them a family (the fighting) before a raucous "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S)."

From there, they reached back to the early days for "Looks That Kill" (their first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100); "On With the Show," a Bowiesque album cut from their debut; "Too Fast For Love," which may have been the highlight of the first half of the set; and a crowd-pleasing mash-up of their first Top 40 single, "Smokin' in the Boys Room," and Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll."

Neil set the tone for "Without You," a Top 10 power ballad from the "Dr. Feelgood" album, with, "A lot of people got married to this song and a lot of people got pregnant to this song. So if you're about 25 years old, this might be why you're here." It was kind of sweet. As things said at a Motley Crue show go. And even moreso compared to the title of the next song -- "Motherf----- of the Year."

That song was followed by a lengthy trip down memory lane by bassist Nikki Sixx, who told the story of the birth of Motley Crue while trash-talking the Knack and the Plimsouls, singing the praises of his bandmates and recalling their first practice with Neil on the mike. "I handed him the lyrics to 'Live Wire,'" Sixx recalled, triumphantly. "That day was Jan. 17, 1981."

It would have been the perfect setup for "Live Wire," but instead, they powered through their fairly faithful reading of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K.," "Dr. Feelgood" and "Shout at the Devil," which featured Sixx shooting flames from a blowtorch attached to his bass while chanting along on the chorus into a microphone suspended from a flaming stand. As Neil remarked after that display of pyrotechnic glory, "I like lots of fire, man."

After treating the fans to one last power ballad, of sorts -- "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" -- and giving Mars a chance to shine, they brought the show to a headbanging climax with "Live Wire," "Too Young to Fall in Love," "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Kickstart My Heart," which ended in the biggest, most outrageous pyrotechnic display of the night.

They left the stage at that point, but everyone knew they couldn't say goodbye without a taste of "Home Sweet Home." And that's exactly how they sent us home, from a little stage in the middle of the venue, Lee starting the song on piano and switching to drums when it needed more power. It was kind of touching. And when it was over, they strolled back through aisle, shaking occasional hands as Sinatra sang, "And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain."

It was a bittersweet end to a concert that did a commendable of celebrating the legacy of Motley Crue with all four members still in a position to deliver. Always leave them wanting more, right?

Joining Motley Crue on their farewell tour is the legendary Alice Cooper, who brought a killer band -- if not the "Killer" band -- to Phoenix for a full theatrical production, including a proper beheading via guillotine. It was a spectacle we rarely see here in the Valley because his annual Christmas Pudding concert is a more stripped-down affair. And that made it all the more special.

After setting the tone with a snippet of the melody to "Steven," Cooper emerged as a shower of sparklers rained down from the lighting rig, wearing a red-and-black striped suit to welcome the fans to his nightmare with "Hello Hooray."

There wasn't much production in the first part of the set, as Cooper and his bandmates let the music do the talking, powering through the classic riffs of "No More Mr. Nice Guy," "Under My Wheels" and "I'm Eighteen," which featured Cooper brandishing a bloody crutch. He'd skewered a big stack of bills with a sword for "Billion Dollar Babies," tossing the bills to the crowd. The '80s comeback single, "Poison," gave way to the punkish guitar attack of 2005's "Dirty Diamonds," the newest song he played, which found him tossing costume jewelry to the crowd before leaving the stage to shine a spotlight on his bandmates.

Cooper returned to the stage with a boa constrictor, sneering "Welcome To My Nightmare" while wearing a creepy post-Rob Zombie top hat, as the onstage video screens distorted his image to brilliant hallucinatory effect. He donned a bloody lab coat for "Feed My Frankenstein," which ended in his being strapped onto a giant operating table and disappearing in a cloud of smoke with sparklers and explosions going off. That's when a giant Frankenstein monster emerged and proceeded to prowl the stage mouthing the lyrics.

Cooper returned in a straitjacket for "Ballad of Dwight Fry," with Sheryl Cooper -- AKA his wife -- as a sadistic, ghoulish nurse. I'd hesitate to say she upstaged Alice Cooper, but it felt that way at times as she managed to stay in character while showing off her interpretive dance moves. As the song built to a screaming climax, Cooper yelled "Don't touch me!" and started to strangle Sheryl with the sleeves of his straitjacket, from which he'd partially escaped. But Sheryl stabbed him in the legs and he was led off to the guillotine. The beheading was followed, in keeping with Cooper tradition, by the "Billion Dollar Babies" track, "I Love the Dead," as the executioner held his severed head aloft, eventually french-kissing it.

Cooper returned, head intact, to bring his portion of the concert to a raucous climax with "School's Out," performed as a hard-rocking mash-up with Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall." When the song was over, he introduced his bandmates and his dancer, introducing himself with "Playing the part of Alice Cooper tonight, from Phoenix, Arizona, me."

It was great see the local hero share a full production in his own backyard. Here's hoping the guillotine makes another appearance in the Valley soon.